Terrorism Response

There are a number of ways in which the Orange City Fire Department trains to protect the community. Unfortunately, training for terrorist incidents is included among these. The attacks on the World Trade Center in New York ushered in a new era of concern for the fire service and law enforcement. Immediately following that attack, the Orange City Fire Department took aggressive steps to prepare for a potential terrorist incident to occur locally on a smaller scale. The United States government created the Department of Homeland Security in a similar effort. Since then, the federal government has collaborated with the States and local regions in an effort to efficiently prepare for possible future attacks.

The Orange City Fire Department trains all first responders to the “first responder operational” level, which insures that firefighters will be a will to face any type of terrorist attack in the most effective manner possible. This includes preparing for biological, nuclear, incendiary, chemical and explosive-type incidents. Fire department personnel also train on making appropriate notifications to other government agencies and ordering appropriate resources to assist in mitigating incidents.

Although the community and the fire department hope that firefighters never have to use their training, it is the business of the fire department to prepare for, and respond to, any imaginable type of incident – no matter how severe.